Once Russia's henchmen, Cossacks now helping with Olympic security

By Zarifmo Aslamshoyeva, CNN

Updated 10:20 AM ET, Sat January 25, 2014

Gallery: Who are the Cossacks?13 photos

Who are the Cossacks? – Hundreds of Cossack soldiers have been deployed to Sochi, Russia, to provide security ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. The soldier on the right is a Cossack, distinguished by his tall hat. Russia has had a rocky relationship with the Cossacks. Click through the gallery to learn more.

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Gallery: Who are the Cossacks?13 photos

Who are the Cossacks? – Known for rebelling against Russia's feudal system, the Cossacks allied with Russia's tsars to help create the monolithic Russian Empire. This 19th century painting depicts a Zaporozhian Cossack from modern-day Ukraine.

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Gallery: Who are the Cossacks?13 photos

Who are the Cossacks? – The Cossacks allied with Russia's last emperor, Tsar Nicholas II, to fight against the Bolsheviks and their 1917 Communist revolution. Here, Tsar Nicolas is wearing a Cossack uniform and inspecting Cossack soldiers.

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Gallery: Who are the Cossacks?13 photos

Who are the Cossacks? – Vladimir Lenin led the revolution that paved the way for Communist rule in Russia until the late 20th century. Here, Lenin speaks in 1919 in Moscow's Red Square to dedicate a monument to Stepan Razin, a 17th century Cossack who revolted against the Russian monarchy.

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Gallery: Who are the Cossacks?13 photos

Who are the Cossacks? – When World War II broke out, Cossack soldiers fought on both sides. This 1943 photo shows a 64-year-old Russian Cossack decorated for gallantry and leadership with the order of the red banner

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Gallery: Who are the Cossacks?13 photos

Who are the Cossacks? – The commander of a Cossacks unit on Russia's southwestern front watches the progress of his troops during World War II in August 1942.

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Gallery: Who are the Cossacks?13 photos

Who are the Cossacks? – Soviet Red Army Cossacks enjoy a little downtime by giving a traditional dance performance in February 1938.

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Gallery: Who are the Cossacks?13 photos

Who are the Cossacks? – After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia's Defense Ministry announced plans to deploy small units of Cossacks as part of the Russian Army. In August 1992, representatives for 12 Cossack forces convened in Moscow to discuss their revival at the All-Russian Congress of Cossacks.

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Gallery: Who are the Cossacks?13 photos

Who are the Cossacks? – A Cossack settler stands in Pagran-Petrovka in Russia's Far East near the border with China in January 2001. Russia deployed a chain of Cossack border guards to prevent Chinese citizens from crossing the border illegally.

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Gallery: Who are the Cossacks?13 photos

Who are the Cossacks? – Young Russian Cossacks juggle swords in the town of Krasny Oktyabr, on the outskirts of the southern Russian city of Volgograd, in January 2014. Even before Russia was declared the host of the Winter Olympic Games, Cossacks were deployed to southern Russia to help maintain law.

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Gallery: Who are the Cossacks?13 photos

Who are the Cossacks? – Cossacks also participate in ceremonial events, including this presidential regiment ride in the Kremlin following the changing of the guard ceremony in the Sobornaya (Cathedral) Square. The tsarist-style ceremony was restored by the Kremlin in 2007 to attract tourists.

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Gallery: Who are the Cossacks?13 photos

Who are the Cossacks? – Then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hands over a flag to one of the modern Cossacks organizations in Georgiyevsky (St. George) Hall of the Big Kremlin Palace in Moscow,in December 2011.

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Gallery: Who are the Cossacks?13 photos

Who are the Cossacks? – Russian President Vladimir Putin visits a Cossack cadet academy in Rostov-on-Don in February 2008. Analysts have expressed concern that Moscow's new cozy relationship with the Cossacks could backfire, as some Cossacks have demanded more power and land rights.

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Story highlights

Russia has deployed Cossack soldiers to help with Olympics security

The Cossacks were once known as the henchmen of Russia's tsars

They fought against the Communist revolution and fell out of favor

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, there has been a revival of Cossack culture and pride

In their tall, fur hats and embellished traditional jackets, hundreds of Cossacks are patrolling the streets of Sochi, Russia, as the 2014 Winter Olympic Games approach.

These Russian soldiers, whose ancestry dates back thousands of years, are known in the West for their gravity-defying dance style. Closer to home, the Cossacks have long symbolized rebellion and military might in Western and Southern Russia and Ukraine.

That reputation was further enhanced by Russian literature giants Leo Tolstoy and Alexander Pushkin, whose writings contributed to the myth surrounding the Cossacks.

But within their high hats is hidden a dark history.

Known for rebelling against Russia's feudal system, the Cossack state allied itself with Russia's tsars to help create the monolithic Russian Empire. These warrior horsemen helped bring Russian rule to vast parts of the country, most notably Siberia.

During the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, the Cossacks fought for the Russian crown in regional wars against the Russian people, garnering a reputation as the tsars' henchmen. Acting on behalf of the Russian Empire, the Cossacks carried out pogroms, or massacres of the Jews, in 19th century Russia.

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But over time, the tsars became wary of the Cossacks' impunity against the Russian Empire and their inability to fully control them. So, when the Cossacks again turned to rebellion against the empire and its imposed rule, the tsars ruthlessly punished the Cossack leaders and their warriors, as documented in the Cossack rebellion, led by Yemelyan Pugachev, against Catherine the Great in the late 18th century.

The tsars and the Cossacks found themselves united once again during the rise of the Bolsheviks in the early 20th century. The Cossacks supported Tsar Nicolas II and the anti-communist forces that made up the White Movement during the Bolshevik revolution in 1917 and the ensuing Russian Civil War.

After the Bolsheviks (who later became Communists) came to power, they massacred many Cossacks for their opposition to the revolution.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union in the late 20th century, there has been a revival of Cossack culture and pride in Russia and the former Soviet states. Russia has been turning to the Cossacks to help bolster security, even before Sochi was named as the host city for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Last year, the governor of Russia's Krasnodar region -- where Sochi is located -- hired about 1,000 Cossack patrolman to rein in the surge of illegal immigrants, mostly Muslim, according to the New York Times.

His comments sparked an outcry from Sochi natives, minorities and migrants. Analysts say it is not a coincidence that the Cossacks' revival is taking place as nationalism and xenophobia are on the rise in Russia.

And Dzutsev warns that Russia's reliance on the Cossacks "may naturally translate into conflicts between the indigenous population of the North Caucasus and the Cossacks."

So far, most Russians have embraced this rebirth of the Cossacks, due in part to the mythology surrounding them, aided by Tolstoy and Pushkin's writings.

But as Moscow calls on the Cossacks to fulfill this myth of the warrior class -- traditional clothing and all -- the tumultuous relationship between the Cossacks and the Russian Empire will be important to remember.